By My Side
by The Steppy One
Summary: When Ron hears something in the Ministry, he decides to go and check it out on his own, with disasterous consequences.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, for those awaiting the next chapter of 'Searching', please don't shout at me::bats eyelashes:: I just haven't had anything from my muse as far as that's concerned. Don't worry, I won't be abandonning it, I'm just haveing more trouble with it than I thought I would!**

**_Author's Notes:_ Firstly thank you to mrsquizzical over on LiveJournal and my big sis Solstice Muse for reading it through and putting up with my 'is this okay...how about this?' questions, of which there were many! Secondly thanks to my super fast beta DeenaS, also over on LiveJournal. Yes that's right, I've been through the beta process before putting it up on here, shock horror! **

I cannot take credit for the baseline plot of this fic. I blatantly stole it from Stargate SG-1, series 8, which they then recycled in Stargate Atlantis, series 2, so you know, if they can use it twice, I can borrow it this once!

So, as much as there seems to be a bit of plot at the beginning, it is merely a scene setter and not what that story is focused around. The whole point of the story is more of a character study of the main character. (Okay, you can tell I'm nervous about something when I'm justifying it before you've even read it! sigh)

I'd love you forever if you could let me know what you think of it.

I'm gonna shut up now...

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Prologue 

He wasn't sure if this had been one of the most stupid decisions he had ever made. As he thought about it more, he decided it wasn't _the_ most stupid decision he had ever made, but it was a close second.

The rain was freezing, the wind was extremely strong and he was finding it more and more difficult to make his broom fly in the direction he wanted it to. His hands had gone numb from the cold and he was starting to get cramp in his thighs from gripping the broom so tightly.

There was a reason why he was flying in this ridiculously bad weather; he was following his instincts. But at the minute he would rather his instincts would have told him to leave well alone and ignore the fact that there could be evil brewing in the woodland he was searching for.

…

He had been in the Ministry, having escorted Hermione back to her office after they had had lunch together in Diagon Alley, and was about to leave when he thought it would be better to empty his bladder before he used the Floo network. Granted, he probably wasn't going to repeat the unfortunate incident that occurred when he was four years old, but still, it had become habit to use the bathroom before using that particular type of transportation.

It had been entering the toilet that had led to him being on his broom in the freezing rain, hundreds of miles from home. In fact he was at the opposite end of the country to where he should be, but with apparition, that wasn't really a huge problem.

He had pushed open the toilet door and had stopped instantly when the words _'keep your voice down! Do you want everyone to hear what we're discussing?'_ reached his brain. He waited to see if the two people arguing had noticed his half entrance, but decided that when they started talking again he was safe to stand there unnoticed to listen a bit longer.

'Look, there's a gathering tonight at our main hideout.'

'And where, prey tell, would that be? Or am I not privy to such important information?'

'Northumberland, the Village of the Owls.'

'Ah, yes, have the Muggles worked out the real reason for their rather cute village name, yet?'

'If they haven't noticed in hundreds of years that their village is the meeting point of all the wizards in the North of England every year, then I doubt whether their cute village name has aroused any suspicion! Now, will you be there?'

'As long as you promise it won't be a waste of my time and that no one in the Ministry will find out about my out of hours wanderings.'

'Well, we've not been found out yet.'

'_Yet_, being the important word.'

Ron heard shuffling and decided it was time to stop listening. He banged on the door as if he had just entered in a hurried fashion and nodded at the two slightly startled men as he walked towards the urinals mounted on the far wall. The men left and Ron's brain started working.

He had left the Ministry and gone straight back to his and Hermione's flat. He paced around a bit, wondering whether the slightly sinister conversation was worth telling the Aurors or the Magical Law Enforcement department. He knew that both Hermione and Harry would take his thoughts seriously, but he didn't want to be the reason that either of them, or himself for that matter, were laughed at, or thought of as naïve for acting on a hunch without any solid evidence.

But there was something niggling in his mind. He just had a feeling that something was going on, and he had a name of a place where it was all apparently happening. Hermione would be working late that night so she wouldn't miss him if he disappeared from home for an hour or so. Before he knew it, he had formed a plan in his head and set about tying up the loose ends that may bring about awkward questions.

…

'After all that planning and you didn't think to check the bloody weather forecast before you left! There's a reason why they complain about the weather up North, Weasley!'

He sighed loudly but the noise was drowned out easily by the wind.

He had been in the air for far longer than he had intended. He had looked up where the annual gathering of Wizards and Witches of the North of England normally took place, and was trying to find the dense woodland. He didn't know for sure that this was where, whatever it was, was taking place, but it was as good a place as any to start looking.

He knew he had missed it, it was only just over half a mile north-west of the village, but he knew he had flown further than that. He came to a hover – as much as it was possible to hover in the strong wind – and managed to retrieve his wand from inside his robes. He held out his disillusioned hand and balanced his wand on his palm.

'Point me!' he said to the wand.

The wand spun on his hand and pointed a little to his left. He had been flying too far north and adjusted his direction before setting off flying again, wand still in hand.

A clap of thunder filled his ears.

'Bollocks! That is not what I need!'

He flew for another minute and when his numb hands slipped off his broom handle, he decided that he should go home. Flying when it was thundering and lightening was beyond stupid and he really wanted to be warm and dry.

He flew towards the ground and spotted a tree he could land safely behind, reducing the risk of being seen by anyone else who was stupid enough to be out in this weather. He was feet from the ground and the tree when it exploded. The sound of the explosion and of the thunder above him rattled through his head and the force of the explosion threw him off his broom.

He twisted in the air, ignoring the pain the flying splintered bark caused him and desperately tried to spot the ground so he could at least try and control the way he landed. But the darkness that had crept up on him in the last fifteen minutes made it nearly impossible to determine where the ground was.

He landed heavily and cracked his head against the hard ground. He tried to keep his eyes open despite the splitting pain in his head. Before his eyelids closed he saw the tree in flames, steam rising from the ground around it, the whole thing looking like a beacon sending a message across the horizon.

A voice in his head was telling him to keep his eyes open and he managed to roll onto his front and started to crawl towards what he thought was a line of trees. He curled up underneath the nearest tree and despite what he kept telling himself, he closed his eyes.

Ten seconds later he was unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1: Seeing things**

There was pain, so much pain, that was all he knew.

A cold breeze washed over him and he shivered. It was this that brought him back to himself. He felt the ground under him and something solid at his back. He wanted to open his eyes but knew that would bring on more pain.

Images came to him: the exploding tree, his broom flying away from him, the steam rising from the ground and then nothing.

Out of instinct more than anything, he opened his eyes. The pain he expected wasn't as fierce as he thought it might be, a dull ache as opposed to a stabbing pain, but still, he'd rather it disappear before he tried to do anything.

Looking around him, he remembered that he had managed to crawl to some sort of shelter. Slowly, he pushed himself into a more upright position and carefully looked over his shoulder to where the lightening hit tree still stood. It was no longer alight, either the rain had put out the fire or it had simply run out of fuel. He supposed it was a good thing the lightening had struck the lone tree in the middle of the field as opposed to one of the ones in this tightly packed woodland.

The sun was just starting to show over the horizon line and from that Ron worked out that he had been unconscious for roughly eight hours. He sighed when thoughts of a frantic Hermione came to him. He had left a note stating he had gone out for an hour and not to worry. He had only left it in case she finished work early and hoped he could return home and get rid of it without her knowing anything. He would tell her where he had been if there was anything to report, but, at the minute, he wished he had written a few more words down on that piece of parchment.

He wriggled his toes and although he ached, he didn't feel any sharp pains or anything else to suggest he had broken any bones when he landed. He stretched his arms out in front of him and the pain in the top of his left arm was so much he gasped. His robes were torn and there was blood covering his upper arm. Embedded in his muscle was a large piece of bark and when he reluctantly, tried to move it, he realised it was buried at least an inch into the flesh.

'That's not good!' he mumbled, his words partially slurred. 'Come on, Weasley, _think!_'

_I need to get some help, I need to go home, I need to Apparate, I need my wand_.

He fumbled in his robes trying not to disturb his wounded arm and then realisation dawned on him; he had been holding his wand when he was thrown off his broom.

He scrambled unsteadily to his feet, panic rising through him. He swayed dangerously and had to lean against the tree to find some sort of balance. When his head was a little clearer, he stumbled forwards and cursed the sun for rising so slowly. He needed more light to search properly, but couldn't wait until he had it. His eyes jumped from one spot to another.

His heart leapt when he saw a long thin piece of wood on the ground and he hurried over to it. He fell to his knees and picked it up, only to realise that it was just a twig from a tree. He looked around him and noticed more of them; there could be hundreds all over the field, camouflaging his wand very effectively, if it was even in this field.

He stood up again and started walking, his eyes constantly on the ground hoping that the next piece of wood they landed on would be the one he needed more than ever.

At intervals that were far too close together for his liking, he had to stop and rest, looking down at the ground constantly made him feel dizzy. A few minutes later, he couldn't shake the dizziness and started to feel sick. Not wanting to throw up in the middle of a field, he made his way back to the tightly packed trees. Carefully, he sat down trying not to move his head or his arm too much, the pain in both was becoming unbearable. He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. He hoped the dizziness and sickness would disappear, but it worsened. His breathing got faster and despite the fact that he knew he shouldn't, he slid sideways and curled up on the floor.

He wretched and steadied himself with his injured arm. Pain shot through him and he wretched again. He coughed and the pain became too much. His body shut down and he fell unconscious again.

He opened his eyes and was confused as to why he could see trees above him. His memory came back to him and he groaned. He went to roll over on his left side but was stopped by a stabbing pain. He grunted with pain and frustration and went to pull the bark out of his arm. He looked at how much it had bled already and wondered if removing it would make things worse. He compromised; he pushed it to the side to see if it was going to start spurting blood.

Thankfully, it didn't and after a bit more wriggling he pulled it out totally. Deciding it wouldn't be a good idea to leave it how it was, he tore a strip off his already ruined t-shirt, something he found much harder than he expected it to. He managed to tie the strip of material tightly around his arm using his right hand and his teeth. It stung like hell but he knew it had to be done until someone who knew what they were doing could mend his wound properly.

He gingerly felt the place on his head where it throbbed the most. He could feel the stickiness of hair mixed with dried blood above his right eye and carefully moved his fingertips along his hairline towards his ear before he found the place where the skin had split open. He hissed as he inadvertently pressed against the open wound. He spat into his hand and tried to wash off the dried blood he could feel down his face. He was about to stand up when he thought he saw movement in the trees to his right. He automatically reached for his wand inside his robes and felt the panic wash over him as he remembered, yet again, that he didn't have his wand to defend himself with.

Leaves shot out behind a tree as if someone was kicking them but he couldn't see anything else. A few seconds later, more leaves fluttered out from behind the tree, as if someone had picked them up and thrown them in the air.

He waited for someone to show themselves, unsure whether moving would be a good thing to do or not. He was about to adjust his position so he could make a run for it if he needed to, when he heard giggling. He frowned and scrunched his eyes up, trying to clear his head. He looked back at the tree and he heard it again, it was definitely giggling and he thought it sounded like a small child.

'Hello?' he said quietly, still not sure whether it was a good idea or not.

'Hello!' the voice replied.

'Who's there?' he asked.

'Who's _there?_' the voice repeated and the noise of leaves shuffling started up again.

Ron thought it sounded like a small girl talking to him, but surely he would have seen her before now?

'What's your name?' he asked.

The shuffling stopped.

'Will you tell me yours if I tell you mine?'

Despite the bizarre situation, Ron smiled. 'Yeah, of course.'

'I'm Ginevra, but everyone calls me Ginny, even Mummy and Daddy.'

Ron stared at the tree, his mouth open a little.

'So what's your name?'

Ron cleared his throat.

'Could you come out from behind the tree please, Ginny?'

'Only after you've told me your name. I'm not allowed to speak to strangers.'

'Oh, yeah, right. It's Ron.'

Ron held his breath as he waited for 'Ginny' to come out from behind the tree. When she did he gasped.

It was his little sister.

'_Ginny!_ What the hell are you doing here? Have you time travelled? Mum never told me you did!'

'What happened to your head? You're covered in blood.'

She walked towards him and he couldn't help but stare at her. She couldn't be more than four years old. Her fringe was thick and too long; she kept pushing it out of her eyes. She had healing scrapes on her knees and the toes of her shoes were scuffed.

'How did you get here?'

'I'm always here!'

'In the woods?'

'No, in your head!'

'In my…head.'

Ron blinked and opened his eyes again. Ginny had disappeared. His head throbbed.

'Ginny?'

'I'm over here!'

He looked over his shoulders, trying to find the source of the voice. The sound of rustling leaves grew louder and filled his ears.

'Ginny?'

'I told you, I'm over here!'

Black spots invaded his peripheral and he frantically tried to see where she had gone. The sound grew louder and his head started to spin. His sister's laughter filled his head and the blackness overtook him completely.

For the third time, he fell unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well hello! Another chapter for you, things should become a little clearer with this one. Thank you for your reviews so far :D**

**Step ;)

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Chapter 2: Harry 

A sharp pain in his left arm woke him up. This wasn't surprising as he'd just rolled over onto his left side, and the wound in his arms protested. He sat up and tried to ignore the pain in his head.

'Sitting on your arse won't get you anywhere! You need to get out of here!…

_And how exactly do I do that?'_

He snorted and grinned.

'You're arguing with yourself!' he laughed again. 'And now you're telling yourself you're arguing with yourself!'

He laughed out loud and kept on laughing for a couple of minutes. He eventually calmed down.

'Yes, because getting hysterical is going to help you!'

He stood up and looked around him. He decided he needed to find some shelter. He looked back out towards the field where the lightening had struck the tree; it was raining. He frowned and looked at himself and the ground around him. He looked up and then back out to the field.

'Okay, I either hit my head really, really, _really_ hard or something's stopping the rain from falling in the woodland.'

He walked the few metres to the edge of the tree line and stepped out into the rain. He looked at his blood stained hands and took the opportunity to get rid of some of the blood on them.

_'Definitely_ raining!'

He walked back towards the tree line and stopped before he crossed into the dry patch of ground. He held his hands up and pushed them forwards, as if he was expecting some physical force to stop them moving. He felt no resistance but his hands were no longer being rained upon. He looked up and saw that the canopy above him was nowhere near thick enough to stop all the rainfall completely. He pulled his hands back towards himself and tried again, this time moving his hands very slowly towards the barrier that was proving elusive to him. He stopped when his hands were where he thought it should be, and then he felt it; the hairs on the outside edge of his hands moved.

He pulled back the sleeve of his robes on his good arm and slowly moved his forearm forward. He felt it again and saw the hairs on his arm stand up as if they were being pulled towards the barrier.

'It's magical!' he said quietly. 'They've protected it from the weather and probably the Muggles as well!'

It dawned on him that he had conducted the whole of his experiment on the wrong side of the barrier and quickly stepped into the dry. He shook his head automatically to rid his hair of the rain it had collected and regretted it instantly. He swore to himself and continued to brush off the raindrops that hadn't soaked into his robes or his jeans.

Bolstered by the fact that he was in a magical area, he walked, trying to find any sign that there was anyone else there with him. He realised that he could be walking directly to the place he was trying to find last night, and as he still didn't know anything about what that 'gathering' was all about. He decided to trust his gut instinct that something Dark was going on last night, and made the decision to give whoever they were, wherever they were, a wide berth if they were still here. Being injured and wandless was not good in any way.

As he walked, he thought about what had happened the last time he had been awake. He knew there was only one way a four-year-old Ginny could have visited him and that was if she had time-travelled, and he was damn sure he would have known about that if it had happened. He and Ginny were inseparable at four and five and he thought his mother's reaction to Ginny disappearing into thin air would be very memorable.

He concluded, therefore, that it had either all been a figment of his imagination or he had dreamed it all. He didn't actually remember passing out before 'seeing' his sister, but with a head injury like his, anything was possible.

He was brought from his musing about the state of his sanity by the same feeling on the back of his hand he had felt when he had discovered the magical barrier.

He stopped and looked to his left, all he could see was trees and more trees. He held up his hands like he had before and moved slowly forward.

He pushed his hands through the barrier and was slightly concerned when they appeared to fade in colour. Deciding he had given himself away to whomever was inside – if there was anyone inside – he took a deep breath and stepped through the barrier.

He had stepped into what looked like a cave. It was warmer than the woodland and there were signs that it had been used recently.

The remains of a fire was at the furthest point to the entrance and there was a pile of leaves next to it.

'If you think I'm sleeping on that, you've got another think coming!' he said to the cave.

He looked down at the remains of the fire and saw a few charred animal bones set amongst the ash and charcoal.

'And there's no way in hell I'm peeling dead animals!'

He sighed and looked around, fighting the slight dizzy spell that had come over him suddenly. He turned around, trying to see if he had missed anything else in the cave that would be of help to him. His frustration and anger welled up inside him, his head hurt and he felt useless. He kicked out at the wall and added to his list of injuries a very battered toe on his right foot.

'Merlin, Weasley! Hitting things does not help matters! You're not Harry! _He's_ the one who irrationally hits inanimate objects!'

'Well thanks a lot, _mate!_'

Ron stopped moving at the words. He blinked, wondering if what he thought had happened, had actually happened.

'So, first you insult me and then you ignore me! You really know how to make a person feel good about themselves, Ron!'

Ron spun round.

'Harry! Oh thank you, thank you, _thank you!'_ He walked towards the entrance of the cave to where Harry was standing. 'How the hell did you find me? Was it Hermione? Surely she's here with you! Is she angry with me?'

'That's a lot of questions for one breath, Ron, _breathe!_'

'I'll breathe when I'm at home without a hole in my arm and a splitting headache. Can you Apparate us out of here? There's a magical barrier around the whole woodland, I dunno if you can Apparate through it. Wait, did you Apparate straight here or did you walk through the woods?'

Harry wandered around the edge of the cave looking closely at the walls.

'What do you think these drawings mean?'

Ron frowned, a little confused by Harry's actions.

'Drawings? I hadn't even seen any! I haven't really looked at the walls properly.'

'Ah, see there's your first mistake!'

Ron's frustration grew. Why hadn't they left and why was Harry being so...calm?

'Harry, as much as I'd love to discuss the pretty drawings on the wall of this cave which isn't visible from outside and is in an already magically protected area, I'd rather go home and be told I have to lie down for a week and let Hermione shout at me for being an idiot. Can we please go?'

'You know, I think they're trying to tell a story.'

Ron's angered burned through him.

'Fuck the bloody story, Harry! Why aren't you being all frantic that I've been missing and at least looking relieved that you've found me in one piece?'

'Things aren't what they seem, Ron,' Harry replied calmly.

_The bastard knows I can't stay angry with him if he's being reasonable!_ thought Ron. He decided two could play the manipulation game.

'Harry, _please_,' Ron pleaded, 'I _need_ to go home. Why can't we just go home?'

'You know why, Ron.'

Harry turned away from the wall and looked at Ron, a sad smile on his face.

Ron's head gave a painful throb. He really didn't want to have to think at the minute.

'What was the first thing you thought when you heard my voice?' Harry asked.

'I...I dunno...I suppose I thought...that I was imagining hearing you.'

'That's right, you did.'

_Please, no, please tell me this isn't a dream_.

'Nope, not a dream,' Harry replied to Ron's thoughts.

'Well, if I'm not dreaming, what the fuck's going on then?' Ron growled.

'You're hallucinating,' Harry said simply. You did it before you passed out last time. Ginny didn't time travel when you were little, Ron, you know that, and that's how I know that, too.'

'So, you're in my head, I'm hallucinating that you're here, and I still have no way of getting home without a fucking long walk. Is that what you're saying?'

'Well, really, _you're_ saying it, but...yeah.'

Ron closed his eyes as disappointment washed over him. His head gave another painful throb and he swayed a little.

'You need to sit down, Ron, that head injury is pretty bad. You need to rest when your body tells you to rest.'

Ron shuffled backwards so he could lean against the wall of the cave.

'You know, if all you're gonna do is mother me then you can leave my head! You're starting to annoy me.'

'Ron, how I can I leave your head, when it's _your_ brain that's brought me here! Look, hallucinations work in weird ways. Some of them occur because you need to look at things differently.'

'Okay, how do _I_ know that?'

'Some of that stuff Hermione spouts does sink in, you know!'

'Okay then, well, fun as this little chat is. I'm going to go and find something that will either get me home or at least take my headache away.'

'I wouldn't do that if I were you.'

Ron pushed himself away from the cave wall and took a few steps forward.

'Why not?' he snapped as his head throbbed.

'You know why. You need to take it easy and not aggravate your head or your arm any more.

Ron started to feel dizzy again but ignored it and walked towards the entrance to the cave.

'Ron, you're not well, sit down and get some rest.'

'Look, if you're not going to say anything useful, then sod off!'

Ron closed his eyes, trying to fight off the head-rush that had overtaken his vision.

'Ron, you're swaying and need to lie down.'

Ron staggered to the wall of the cave and fell to his knees.

'It'll...pass,' he said through gritted teeth.

'Look after yourself, Ron.'

The pain in Ron's head became unbearable.

'Harry...please..._help me!_'

'I can't, Ron, I'm sorry.'

Ron slumped against the wall and as if from far away felt the pain in his left arm as it touched the cold stone. The darkness overtook him.

'Harry, please...don't...don't leave me.'

His head landed against the stone with a small thud and once again he was unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3: Arthur**

He blinked, squinted at the entrance to the cave and then shut his eyes again. He opened his eyes once more and blinked a few more times.

_He left me! He left me here, on my own._

He was shocked to find tears in his eyes. Harry had left him there, injured, wandless and extremely vulnerable.

Tears fell from his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He was too tired to wipe them off his face and didn't really feel like it.

He just didn't understand why Harry would leave him. It just wasn't like Harry to leave anyone when they needed help, regardless of who they were, or whether they deserved his help.

He just wanted to curl up and sleep but his stomach was hurting through lack of food. He tried to work out how much time had gone by. He guessed it was afternoon but he had no way of knowing, not having put his watch on when he left the house the night before. Whatever the time, he hadn't eaten in well over 12 hours and his body was reminding him of the fact.

He stood up slowly and waited for the dizziness to overtake him. He was surprised when it didn't, so took the opportunity to look for some food. He walked out the cave and looked back over his shoulder, he couldn't see the cave at all and knew the chances were he wouldn't be able to find it again. He looked around and decided his best idea was to leave himself some kind of sign and at least try and take a logical path through the trees.

He picked up piles of fallen leaves and piled them as high as he could outside from where he had just emerged. He grabbed a small fallen branch and forced it into the ground in the middle of the pile of leaves.

'Well, if any small animals come by it'll entertain them for a minute before collapsing on top of them, but it's the best I can do!'

He kicked around the leaves, and spotted very quickly what he was looking for, a large stone.

He started walking away from the invisible cave with his makeshift marker and every tree he went past he scored an arrow into the bark pointing back to where he had found temporary sanctuary.

* * *

He had walked for longer than he wanted and it had taken him longer than his head appreciated to get back to the cave. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't marked the trees as often as he should and so the further he went out, the fewer his marks had become. But he had managed to get back with a pocket full of berries and the other filled with mushrooms. Not having his wand to do anything to them, least of all check that they weren't in fact going to either poison him or send him to a colourful wonderland full of dancing pixies, he ate the berries and mushrooms raw.

'Hermione, when I see you next, I'm going to apologise for moaning about the food you made on the Horcrux hunt!'

His makeshift tea did little to relieve his hunger, but it was something. What weighed on his mind were his thoughts when he had woken up.

He knew it was probably because of his head injury that he was confused as to what had happened. In all fairness it was his head injury that had manifested this problem in the first place. But he couldn't help but feel guilty for thinking that Harry had found him and then left him. Harry would never do that to him. Ever. And he felt disgusted with himself that he had ever let the thought cross his mind.

No, Harry would never abandon his friends when they needed him, neither would Hermione, but _he_ had. He had left the both of them when they were all stressed, tired, running out of ideas and when they all needed each other the most.

'I'm a crap friend,' he mumbled to himself.

His head was starting to throb again so he leant against the wall of the cave and brought his knees up to his chest. He sighed deeply.

'I didn't mean to hurt them!' he said to his knees.

'And they know that!'

Ron turned his head to the right, and he saw his Dad sat next to him. Realising what he was and resigning himself to the fact that this was going to carry on happening until his concussion was healed, he smiled and was happy to have the company. He frowned when his mind turned back to his previous trail of thought.

'I left them when they needed me!'

'And the second you left, you wanted to go back to them.'

'That's beside the point! I believed everything that _thing_ made me think, even though deep down I knew it was exaggerated or just spouting utter bollocks! I let it get to me when I should have ignored it. Harry and Hermione weren't affected by it.'

'Harry and Hermione had less things to worry about than you!'

Ron turned and looked at his dad properly.

'Dad, they didn't. Harry wasn't going to forget that he had Voldemort to finish off in a hurry and Hermione had the pressure of coming up with ideas on where and what Voldy's Horcruxes were. We never actually told her that was her job but we were depending on her to find something out and give us something to go after! All I had to do was keep the both of them sane but I couldn't even do that properly!'

Arthur sighed. 'Ron, as much as you hate to admit it, you care a lot about what people think of you, especially people who you care about. If Harry or Hermione said things when either of them were wearing the Horcrux, then chances are, even if they didn't mean them or said something flippantly, you stored those little pieces of information in that brain of yours and when you were wearing the locket, they assaulted you all at once. As well as all that, you had your brothers and sister to worry about, as well as your old mum and dad.'

Ron smirked. 'Don't let mum hear you calling her old!'

'Well, I doubt _you'll_ ever say it to her face, so I'd say I'm all right!'

'Right,' Ron said with a nod, remembering once again, he was talking to a figment of his imagination.

'But, I don't think you need me to tell you that you were stupid going out without telling anyone where you were going, do you?'

Ron laughed out loud. 'No, I think I've learnt my lesson.'

'Everyone'll be frantic looking for you, you know.'

'I think _everyone_ is exaggerating slightly, don't you?'

'You've got a lot of friends, Ron, you make people laugh, you're there when they need reassuring and you're just a rock to them.'

'Comic relief isn't something to shout about,' Ron mumbled to his knees.

'I think Fred would've disagreed with you on that one, don't you? And I think George would have something to say too! I tell you something, Ron, if I could go through my days making everyone around me smile and happy, I'd be a very proud man. But you're more than that, Ron, so much more.'

'Is that why you're here?' Ron asked. 'To remind me of who I am in case I go mad and forget what makes me, me?'

'In truth, I don't know why I'm here, but while I am, I'll remind you what a strong person you are, and that you're strong for other people as well as yourself. You can do a lot of things when you put your mind to it, Ron, remember that.'

Ron shifted slightly and that's when he realised his backside had gone numb. His head throbbed slightly and his stomach started squirming.

'Word of advice, Ron,' Arthur said as he stood up.

Ron burped behind his hand and grimaced. 'What's that then?'

'Don't throw up in the place you might have to sleep in.'

As Arthur finished his sentence Ron's stomach turned over. He scrambled to his feet and ran out of the cave. He kept on running until he started to wretch and then fell to his knees at the foot of the nearest tree. He emptied the contents of his stomach – which wasn't a great deal – onto the leaf covered earth and collapsed in a heap on the ground.

For the fourth time in too few hours, he fell unconscious.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4: Fred**

He woke up and a nasty smell hit his nose. He instantly felt a wave of nausea overwhelm him but he brought his hand to his mouth, ignoring the pain in his upper arm, and managed to suppress the retching.

'Not the best smell in the world, is it?'

Ron squinted, the sun peering through the canopy, half-blinding him. He managed to work out in his half-awake state that he had slept through the night. Well, _slept_ may not have been entirely accurate; he had fallen unconscious, how much actual sleep he had actually got was debatable.

'Are you with us, Ronniekins?'

Ron looked around for the source of the voice.

'Over here!'

Ron's eyes fell upon his brother.

'George?'

'Officially offended!' 'George' replied.

'Fred? No! Please, tell me I haven't…I'm not…'

'Dead? Really, Ron, do you think eternity would have you waking up next to a pool of your own sick?'

Ron remembered why he was lying on the ground in the open and what the smell assaulting his nostrils was. He automatically rolled away from it, onto his left hand side. He cried out in pain as he put weight on his injured arm.

'Ah!_Fucking hell!_'

'Language, Ronnie!'

'Oh sod off!'

'If you insist!'

Ron sat up. 'No, wait!'

Fred turned back towards Ron.

'I may as well have someone to talk to whilst I go insane and starve to death!'

Fred laughed out loud. 'See, I leave you and a couple of months later you've turned into a drama queen! I'm disappointed, Ron!'

'Well, thanks for that, Fred. You really know how to make a guy feel good about himself!'

'Oh come on, Ron, you know I'm only winding you up. It's what I do and it's my right as a big brother to do so!'

Ron looked at Fred and thought for a minute. Fred took the time to look around where they were and then turned back to Ron.

'Ron, why are you staring at me?' he said with a frown.

'I'm just thinking,' Ron replied simply.

'Must be the head injury!' Fred replied with a smirk.

'I'm just trying to work out why you're here.'

'What do you mean, why I'm here? I'm a result of that bloody mess on the side of your head.'

'I know that! But I think…I think everyone who's visited me has had some sort of message or something…I dunno.'

He shrugged and got to his feet. He started walking back to the cave, his makeshift marker now well and truly demolished from his quick exit from the invisible hiding place.

'So why are you here then?' Ron asked Fred.

'I dunno, it's your brain doing this, why do you think it's brought me here? What of the many noble and very helpful things did I do when I was alive that could be of help to you now?'

'You annoyed the hell out of me and constantly tried to get me into trouble with Mum. How can that possibly be of help to me now?'

Fred laughed.

'Surely I did more than that in the eighteen years I was your older brother! Did I not teach you anything else?'

'Yeah, how to duck and then how to run fast.'

Ron walked through the entrance to the cave and sat down. The throb in his head started again and if he wasn't mistaken, his vision was blurry. He was ignoring that at the minute though, hoping it would pass.

'So why are you in here hiding, little bro?'

Ron opened his eyes and looked at Fred as if he had gone mad.

'Have you thought about what could be out there? There's a reason I came all this way up north, you know! I didn't do it for the good of my health!'

'Apparently! But that doesn't mean you have to sit here and do nothing!'

'Are you kidding me? They could be pure evil, and more importantly armed! I have nothing to defend myself with and in case you haven't noticed, I have quite a severe head injury which is the reason you're here in the first bloody place!'

'I'm not suggesting you try and take them all on at once without a wand, if that's what is actually out there, but maybe there's something where they had their little gathering that you can use. They may be attached to the Floo network, one of them may have left their wand unattended if they're still there. You never know, it could be as easy as walking in, grabbing a wand and Apparating yourself out of here.'

'It wouldn't be that easy and I'm not that great at sneaking around.'

'Oh, don't be so ridiculous, why do you think we stopped playing hide and seek with you when we were kids, eh? We could never bloody well find you, that's why!'

'Exactly! I'm good at hiding and keeping my head down, which is exactly what I'm doing!'

'No, Ron, you grew up and learned how to adapt your hiding skills to help you sneak around and get what you wanted, you stayed hidden for a year when you had the full force of the Ministry looking for you, surely going into that whatever building that might be in this woodland is a piece of cake. You're not one to sit on your arse and wait for things to happen, Ron. You go out there and do what you need to do, however dangerous it might be!'

'Look, Fred, I love your confidence in me—'

'Ah, you forget, little brother, that I am merely expressing your confidence in yourself, because your conscious brain refuses to believe it.'

'Whatever! We survived for a year on our own, big deal! We were hardly doing anything that directed attention at us.'

'Yes, because every day people walk into the Ministry Polyjuiced as someone else to find a piece of Voldemort's soul, and then break into Gringotts and escape on a dragon to do it again!'

'There were three of us and we planned it for ages! If I'm honest all our plans went tits up and it was improvisation that got us out without being killed!'

'So improvise!'

Ron sighed. 'Look, Fred, My head is hurting constantly, I haven't eaten anything and now…now I can't sodding well see properly. I'm in no fit state to go and take on something I have no idea about.'

'You won't ever know what's out there if you stay here! You never know, there could be food there!'

'Tempting me with food isn't going to get me out of this cave.'

'Eventually it might do and even if it doesn't, the prospect of dying here alone without having even tried to help yourself will. I know you, Ron, you'll end up doing it eventually, might as well do it now before you get worse.

That way, you've given yourself the best chance.'

Ron scowled at Fred. He opened his mouth to speak, but Fred cut him off before he had the chance to.

'And before you have a go at me for being blunt or whatever, just remember it's _you_ thinking these things, not me!'

Fred turned and walked to the entrance of the cave.

'You're leaving?' Ron asked, slightly shocked.

'What more can there be for me to say? See you around, Ron!'

Fred grinned at Ron.

'Fred, wait! What's it like…you know…'

Fred smiled kindly. 'I can't tell you that, Ron.'

Ron nodded. 'Right, you can't tell me because _I_ don't know.'

'It's not that…we're not supposed to know until we get there. It's part of the adventure!'

And with that Fred walked out of the cave and left Ron on his own once more.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews so far people, very much appreciated. Two more left after this :D**  
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* * *

**Chapter 5: Ginny**

He had decided that he would go and find out what was going on as it fell dark. That way, he wouldn't be as easily seen if there was anyone left out there, but, hopefully, it would still be light enough for him to find his way back to the cave.

He had gone out and found yet more berries to eat and was still as hungry as he was before he had eaten them. As yet, he hadn't thrown them back up, so he decided _that_ unfortunate incident had been because of his concussion and not because they weren't suitable to eat.

He had also managed to get some water to drink. He was glad that the northern weather was living up to its shocking reputation and managed to drink some rainwater he collected in his hands. It wasn't much but it was something.

Fed and watered – to an extent – he had set about thinking what he was going to do. He needed a plan of some sort, or at the very least a list of reactions to anything that might happen.

'Best-case scenario, you find the place they were meeting, there's no one there, and there's a way home, whether it be by Floo or…no, actually that's really my only option. Now, the chances of that happening are pretty low, so, I need to think of what else might be there.'

He felt silly talking himself through his ideas and plans, so tried to think them as opposed to actually saying them, but he got confused and found his head hurt more as he went along.

'Right, so, best-case scenario isn't likely to happen. Chances are, if it was their meeting on…crap, what day was it? What day is it now for that matter? Ugh! Well, whatever sodding day it was, chances are they've left, and, unless they've got someone there every day to guard it or…whatever, then it should be deserted. In theory. But they might be guarding it. If it's being guarded, what do I do? If there's just one of them, do I try and talk to them and ask if he can help me, or do I just presume they are out to kill me and either take him out or leave him well enough alone?'

He realised he had just made this a whole lot more complicated. He really needed to simplify things.

'If there's one person there, try and act the innocent and ask for help, if it turns ugly, either stand and fight if there's a chance you won't get hexed to pieces, or leg it at the first sign of trouble. If there's a group of them…do the same thing, hope they aren't evil bastards and will want to help me, or run for it at the first sign of trouble.'

'That's presuming I can find the sodding place!'

After he was happy that he had sorted out, not a plan of action as such, but a plan of retreat if things didn't go as planned, he decided he needed some rest before he set out. He collected leaves from outside the cave and formed them into some sort of bed. Failing to get comfortable, he managed to fall asleep.

When he awoke it was starting to get dusky and he decided it was time to set out. He walked through the cave and noticed something he hadn't before. Well, _he_ hadn't seen them, but he had obviously noticed them without realising it, as Harry had pointed them out. He still hadn't looked at them properly though.

'_Ah, see there's your first mistake!'_

He tried to look at the markings on the walls, but it was too dark to look at them properly, he would look at them in the morning. If he was still here.

He took the path he had taken twice before when looking for food. As he went into parts of the woodland he hadn't been to before, he marked the bark on the occasional tree so he knew which direction to come back in, should he need to. He was hoping he would find a way home, but he knew it would be foolish not to prepare for the possibility he would have to make his way back to his sanctuary.

His head started to pound with every step he took.

'Not now, please! I need a clear head at the minute!'

'Maybe it's a sign!'

He recognised the voice and stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder and saw his sister walking behind him, obviously following him.

'You've grown up, I see!'

'Hey! It's not my fault your brain decided to see me as a four-year-old! I do have a theory as to why you did that though. Want to hear it?'

'Not really, I have to find myself a way home. Now is not the best time for a chat, Gin! If you could come back in about an hour, hopefully I'll be able to chat then!'

'Can't go anywhere I'm afraid!' Ginny replied brightly. 'I'm in your head, remember!'

Ron sighed. 'Well, could you be quiet then? I have to concentrate.'

'Ron, I wouldn't be here unless your brain was trying to tell you something! So I'm not going anywhere until you work out what it is. That's how this whole thing works, isn't it? Harry was telling you to stay awake and look after yourself; Dad told you to have confidence in yourself and that you are a strong person and Fred…Fred told you to get off your arse and do something rather than—'

'Rather than waiting to die, yeah, that's exactly what he said. And if you could tell me why you're here, it would make my life a hell of a lot easier and would mean I could go back to what I have to do rather than figuring out the way my brain works!'

'Yeah, but where's the fun in that?' Ginny replied with a mischievous grin. She passed Ron and started walking in the direction Ron was going in before she arrived.

Ron huffed with annoyance.

'Look, Ginny, I don't have time for this! I have to work out if I can get out of here by finding the place I hope to Merlin is here to see if it can help me get home. You can't say that is a bad thing.'

'The getting home part isn't. You know, I can't quite believe you, Ron. First, you don't tell anyone what you're doing. Second, you continue to fly in shocking weather. Third, you nearly get hit by lightening. Fourth, you decide to scout around in the bloody dark, and finally you think walking around in the dark on your own, wandless and injured is a good idea!'

'Have you quite finished? Or is there anything else you'd like to add to my list of stupidities?'

'Oh, I could go on for a bit longer, but I think I'll leave it at that!'

'_Thanks!_' Ron replied the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

He carried on walking and realised he had not been marking trees as he went. He grunted in frustration and, in an act to make up for his lack of concentration, marked every tree around him with his stone.

'You know, in about ten minutes you're not going to be able to see those marks anyway, so there's not much point in wasting your energy on making them,' Ginny said lightly, like she was ignoring the weight her words would have.

'If you're not going to say anything constructive, then shut up!' he growled through gritted teeth.

'Tetchy!'

Ron stomped his way through the trees, trying to ignore Ginny and make his way as quickly as possible to his goal.

'You shouldn't be doing this, Ron!' Ginny said as she followed him, making just as much noise as he was.

Ron stopped and turned to face his sister.

'Is that why you're here? To tell me this is a bad idea?'

His head throbbed.

'Ron, I wouldn't be here trying to distract you unless one part of your brain thought this was the stupidest idea ever! You could be walking into a building full of Death Eater wannabes without a wand to defend yourself. Your head is killing you and you still can't see properly.'

'Ginny,_ please_. I need to do this and I need to do this now. I'm running out of time and my head is pounding. I'm only going to get worse the longer I'm left untreated so doing this now is my best chance!'

'People are looking for you, Ron. Harry will have summoned all the Ministry personnel they can to look for you and Hermione will be researching every type of locator spell going to try and get you back to her._They'll find you, Ron!_ They won't rest until they do. You can help them by staying alive and staying in one place so that it's easier to find you.'

'I won't sit on my arse and not help myself, Ginny. I can't do that! You know me!'

'I do! Of course I do, but you also know when it's best to do the hard thing, whatever that is, even if it's letting other people do the hard work.'

They had stopped walking but Ron needed to start again. He carried on.

'Ron, stop!'

'No, Ginny! You stop! I'm doing this whether you like it or not and I'm—'

He stopped shouting. He had heard movement. Instinctively he moved to a tree trunk and bent down behind it, listening for any other sound. He cursed how dark it had become in literally a few minutes, his blurry eyesight adding to his problems.

'Hopkins? Is that you?'

_Just one, searching for a second._

'Is that him, Miller? It better had be! He's already late.'

_Make that two, waiting for a third._

Ron's legs started to ache so he stood up. It was the wrong choice though, as a head rush made him lose his balance and stagger away from the tree. He fell backwards with a thump.

'Hopkins? Are you alright?'

Spots and bright colours clouded Ron's vision. He struggled to his feet again and gripped a tree trunk for support. Realising he was in no fit state to do anything other than lie down at the minute he started walking back the way he came.

'He stopped when his shadow fell on the ground in front of him.'

'Hey! Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?'

Ron looked over his shoulder and took one step forwards. The man, illuminated only slightly by his wand light raised his wand in a duelling stance.

Ron didn't wait to see what curse he was going to throw, he started running as fast as he could.

'_Stupify!'_ the man shouted. Ron saw the curse hit a tree to his left. '_Impedimenta!'_ This time it hit a tree to his right.

_I need to get out of here! Someone, help me!_

A flash of orange light erupted behind him and he threw himself to his right instinctively. The trees behind him had burst into flames and a man was screaming in pain.

Knowing he had to get away from the flames, he pushed himself to his feet and ran. He had no way of knowing if he was going the right way back to the cave but at the minute he didn't really care.

He ran, ignoring the pain when his feet landed awkwardly on the uneven ground. His head was spinning when he ran into something and smacked his nose against it.

He landed on his back and fought to stay conscious. He rolled onto his front and stared at the space in front of him. He couldn't see anything, it was dark, yes, but he could see shadows of trees around him but couldn't see anything directly in front of him. He managed to hold his hand out and felt for what had knocked him down.

Bright patterns invaded his vision, he knew he was losing the battle to stay awake. Blood was dripping from his nose and the pain in his head and face was unbearable. He groped for what was in front of him, when he felt it; the hairs on his hand were being pulled forwards. He crawled forwards and felt the solid barrier in front of him. He crawled sideways feeling the barrier as he went around.

After what felt like hours, his hand fell through the entrance of the cave causing him to lose his balance. He hauled himself into the invisible place and curled up into a ball.

Then he willingly gave himself to unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6: Hermione

Ron blinked and opened his eyes. He looked around but didn't know where he was. He turned his head to his right where the light was coming into the cave. The light hurt his eyes and his head. He closed his eyes and sank back into the blackness of unconsciousness.

It was his cough that forced his eyes open. He groaned at the pain it caused. He brought his hands to his face and called out in pain when they landed heavily on his nose. He gingerly felt his nose and groaned when it wasn't the shape he knew it should be.

'Fuck!' he mumbled.

He heard rustling and then felt a warm hand stroking his hair and the side of his face. He gripped the hand, knowing it was the hand of someone he loved, knowing that touch anywhere.

'Hermione?'

'I'm here, Ron.'

Ron focused as best as he could on her eyes.

'Are you really? Or are you just in my head.'

Hermione smiled. 'I'm real in here,' she put her other hand on his head and ran her fingers through his hair. 'But only in here, I'm afraid.'

Ron smiled. 'Ah well, better than nothing. Are you going to shout at me?'

'I should do, really, but I can't when you're ill, can I? That's the Ronald Weasley rule, isn't it?'

Ron smirked. 'Absolutely!'

'But you should be prepared for harsh words from the real me when you've recovered. I'm not going to let this one go!'

'I know. But if I get out of here, I'll let you shout at me all you want. I'd love nothing more than to hear you shouting at me, if it meant you were really with me.'

'I'm coming for you, Ron. We promised we'd take care of each other and that's what I'm doing. You just have to hold on for me, okay?'

'I tried…tried to find a way h…home but…I couldn't. I t…tried!'

'Shh, Ron! Calm down, you just need to hang on for a bit longer, okay?'

Ron automatically went to nod but regretted his decision.

'I will. Promise.'

He closed his eyes and the need to sleep overtook him.

'Hang on for me, Ron. Just hang on.'

* * *

'H'mione,'

He waited for an answer, but didn't get one.

Determined not to pass out again soon, he rolled onto his right side and crawled towards the wall of the cave. He propped himself against the cold stone and tried to focus on a point in front of him. Disturbingly, that point was a dried pool of blood, no doubt from his most recent injury. He managed to look at it for a minute before starting to feel dizzy, yet again.

He didn't care that his only chance of company wasn't real; he wanted to speak to Hermione, regardless of whether she was a figment of his imagination.

'Her…Hermione?' he said, his voice rough.

Again nothing replied to him.

'Please! I need you, Hermione.'

'I'm here,' Hermione's voice replied.

He forced his eyes open and managed to pull his mouth into a smile. It hurt his face but he refused to stop smiling when he saw Hermione.

'Hi,' he said sleepily.

'Hi,' she replied with a smile. 'Oh, Ron, what have you done to yourself?'

Her fingers gently touched Ron's face. He expected to feel pain but he didn't, just her touch on his skin.

'I don't care if you're not real, I'm so happy you're here.'

'I'll always be with you, Ron, so will your friends and family…even those who you won't see again, in this life anyway.'

Ron nodded his head an inch.

'I know.'

'And you also know that they, _we,_ won't stop looking for you until we find you.'

'I know, but if you could hurry up, it'd be much appreciated!'

Hermione smiled.

Ron cleared his throat and frowned at how that very simple thing hurt him.

'Hermione,'

'Yes, Ron,'

'I know you're not real, but I need to tell you some things, just in case, you know?'

'That's not the attitude to have, Ron. I don't want you thinking like that.'

'I know, but...please, if nothing else it gives me practice saying them to you before I say them to the real you!'

He expected her to smile but she frowned slightly.

'I know you love me, Ron.'

'Yeah, but I never told you, did I? I tried on a few occasions, but I never thought I could do it justice. I wanted it to be an occasion that you would remember.'

'Ron, any time you decide to say those words to me would be an occasion to remember, however mundane the circumstances. Whenever you're ready to say those words will be perfect.'

'That's the thing though!' he exclaimed. He sat forward with the force of his words and immediately felt dizziness overtake him and his head throbbed. He gritted his teeth, determined to carry on talking. 'I've always felt this way, since I realised I liked you more than friends, it's always been you, Hermione, always, and I've never told you!'

The pain in his head was unbearable and he whimpered with the pain.

'Ron, please calm down. Sit back and rest. Getting worked up won't help!'

'I can't believe this is...the way I'm gonna...'

'Don't you dare finish that sentence, Ronald Weasley!' Hermione snapped as she leaned in towards him. 'I. Will. Find. You. _You know that!_'

Ron felt a little ashamed.

'I know, you will, I just don't know...whether I...I can hold on until you g...get here.'

Tears filled his eyes.

'You're strong, Ron, you know that.'

He nodded, and tried to ignore the black spots clouding his vision.

'Remember, I love you,' he said before falling unconscious again.

* * *

He was lying on the ground but failed to realise he hadn't voluntarily lain down. He forced his eyes open but couldn't see anything but darkness.

'l...love you...H'mio...ne.'

* * *

He could feel hands on his face, their touch gentle but firm.

'Ron! Ron, open your eyes for me, _please_. Oh, Merlin! What have you done to yourself?'

He heard rummaging and then the hands were back on his face, something cool dripped onto his nose and it tingled.

'Ron, come on, wake up for me, I need to know you can hear me.'

With all the energy he could muster, he forced his eyelids apart. He couldn't focus but could see shapes moving in front of him.

'Oh, thank God! Ron, are you okay? Well, obviously you're not! I'm going to get some help, okay, Ron? Stay awake for me, I won't be a minute.'

The shapes moved away from him, he couldn't see her properly but he knew Hermione was visiting him again. He managed a smile and closed his eyes again.

'_Expecto Patronum! Please hurry!'_

The shapes appeared in front of him.

'You...c...came back again!'

'Again? What do you mean again? Has someone else been here, Ron?'

'Everyone's been here! You, Harry...Fred...'

'Fred? Ron, Fred's...never mind, just lie still for me, Ron. I don't want to move you in case it does any more damage. You've done enough as it is.'

He felt her take his hand and he squeezed hers tightly.

'You know, even though you're in my head, you feel very real!'

She didn't reply right away.

'Ron, I don't understand, what do you mean I 'feel very real'?'

'No, no, I know you're real, you told me that you were real in here.'

Clumsily he brought his hand to his head a tapped it. He felt Hermione grab his arm and lower it to the ground.

'You've done yourself enough mischief, Ron. We'll have no more of that, thank you.'

'I meant what I said earlier you know, and I know the real you won't...won't hear it, but I need to tell you again, I l...love you, Hermione.'

He heard a small gasp. The shape that he knew was Hermione moved towards him and she came into focus a little more.

'I love you too, Ron.'

He felt her kiss his forehead and he smiled.

'_Hermione!'_

He recognised the second voice but didn't know who it was.

Hermione's grasp on his hand disappeared and she moved away from him.

'I'm here, he's here! He's injured, looks like he's hit his head really hard. He's confused and...'

The rest of the words were muffled as he closed his eyes once more. He felt more hands on him and then felt himself being moved and lifted into the air.

_Maybe this is it,_ he thought. _It's not so bad, nothing hurts anymore and it's peaceful._

With that last thought, he thought no more.

* * *

Just the one more and then it's done! i think a few of you were waiting for Hermione to arrive and arrive she did! Hopefully she didn't disappoint! Let me know what you think. Ta

Step ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the last chapter for you. I hope you enjoyed Ron's concussion as much as I enjoyed writing it! lol If you could let me know what you think of this last bit and of the thing as a whole it'd make me very happy :D**

**Step ;) **

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Chapter 7: Explanations

'…severe case of concussion, one of the worse ones I've ever seen…'

His head hurt but he had expected it to be worse. He opened his eyes and shut them immediately; the harsh white of the ceiling reflected the sunlight from outside and hurt his eyes. He coughed lightly through his nose.

'Ron, it's me, Hermione.'

He felt, what he presumed was a mattress underneath him, dip slightly. Her hand landed on his chest and he automatically went to hold it. He squeezed it tightly.

'He'll be groggy for a while, Miss. Granger. If he wants to sleep, he should do.'

He felt the bed shake and knew Hermione was nodding her head to whoever she was talking to, presumably a Healer.

'I shall inform his family he has woken up.' the Healer continued.

'Thanks, is it okay if I stay with him?'

On hearing this question, Ron brought his and Hermione's hand up towards his face and clumsily kissed her knuckles.

'I think you can take your answer from that, Miss. Granger. Call me if he needs anything.'

'I will.'

Ron heard a door shut and felt the bed dip again as Hermione shifted her position further up towards his head.

He opened his eyes once more and managed to squint through the mass of white and find Hermione.

'Bright…' he mumbled.

'Oh, right, give me a sec.'

He heard her wand swish through the air and the brightness faded. He managed to open his eyes properly and saw her light a few candles so they weren't sat in complete darkness.

'Thanks,' he said with a small smile.

'Do you need anything else? Hermione asked quietly.

''M hungry!'

He watched her chuckle.

'I'm afraid you can't eat anything at the minute, Healer's orders. You've been re-hydrated and given potions to build up the minerals and vitamins you've lost through not eating, and it's quite a high dose, if you eat as on top of that it could do more harm than good. Just a few hours and then you can eat.'

Ron nodded.

'There's…things I need to…tell you,' he said to her.

She gently put a finger over his lips.

'Only when you're ready, Ron. Don't go exhausting yourself.'

'I'm lying down!' he said with a smile.

'Lying down in hospital because you came off your broom and suffered very serious injuries.'

'Are you going to shout at me?' he asked, trying to look as innocent as possible.

'I should! I don't think 'stupid' quite covers it, but…I can't blame you for doing what you thought was best. I presume it was the group of wizards and witches trying to band together and wreak havoc in Voldemort's name who were gathering in the woods on frequent occasions, who we found when looking for you, you were trying to find about, yes?'

'That was a long sentence, but yeah, I was looking for them. So they were there, then? I wasn't even sure the woodland was where they were meeting.'

'Well, it was. Why did you go out by yourself, Ron?'

She had asked the question in as kind a way as she could.

'You know, I think I'd feel less guilty if you shouted at me and called me an idiot!'

Hermione laughed. 'Well, I can call you an idiot if you want me too, but I if I start shouting you, I think I'll be asked to leave and I really don't want to leave you.'

He kissed her knuckles again, without the clumsiness this time and smiled at her.

'I don't want you to leave, either.'

'Okay, in which case…' she cleared her throat and straightened her posture. '_You are an absolute idiot, Ronald Weasley!' _Her tone was harsh and her voice a little higher than normal. 'How's that?'

He laughed and she joined in.

'Perfect. And I went out on my own because all I'd heard was a couple of blokes discussing a 'gathering' that one didn't want people at the Ministry to know he was going to. To me that screamed Dark Behaviour, but I wasn't sure and I might have been completely wrong.'

'But you weren't though, were you, you were spot on like you normally are. Even if you had been wrong, what did it matter? Neither Harry nor I would have laughed at you!'

'No, but I can imagine the Auror department being rather pissed off if Harry had taken my information as absolute fact and summoned the whole lot of them to descend on a patch of trees at the other end of the country, to find sod all there!'

Hermione huffed.

'Ron, that's their job! They're there to follow up _any_ information that may or _may not_ lead to finding and catching Dark Wizards, it's what they're paid to do!'

'So how many did they catch then?' Ron asked, his excitement obvious.

Hermione smiled and shook her head at him.

'There were only three of them there, but it was what was in their hideout that was most important. Harry couldn't tell me specifically but there was stuff that had been planned to cause terror throughout the community in weeks, months and years to come.'

'Really? They thought big then!'

'Scarily so.'

'So, how did you find me, then? I didn't exactly leave any clues except a note saying I'd gone out!'

'Yes, if you could at least give us a county next time, it would make things easier!' Hermione said, rolling her eyes. 'But actually, that note was more helpful than you might think, along with a combination of other things. We thought that the note was, presumably, the last thing you touched before you left, and – I didn't know this – but like everyone leaves minuscule skin cells and strands of DNA on everything we touch, apparently witches and wizards leave traces of magic behind too. The note had the smallest trace of your magic still on it. One of the locator spells that the Magical Law Enforcement Department uses when looking for missing people told us that you had gone 'North', but because it was only a tiny trace of magic it couldn't be more specific than that. It wasn't much but because of it we didn't spend hours looking in the last place you'd been seen, which was the Ministry.

'We checked there, of course, along with other logical places. Harry and I tried to think of all the possible reasons why you would go somewhere without telling us and we thought it was more than likely that you had heard something that was worth looking at, whatever that might be, and it was likely going to be something magical as opposed to Muggle. That's when we started searching all the magical towns, moving further north as we went.

'When we were out searching for you we got an 'hourly report' from George telling us that you hadn't returned home and he added that Pigwidgeon was going insane because he hadn't seen you in longer than was normal. That's when it dawned on us that we could get Pigwidgeon to find you.'

'Are you about to tell me that with all the skill, expertise and magic the Ministry have, that it was my tiny, insane, fluff ball of an owl that found me?' Ron asked with a grin.

'No, actually, although I don't doubt he would have found you had we not got our break through.'

'Which was what?'

'There was a fire in one of the official gathering places the Ministry had approved, the one where we found you. Oh, someone from the Ministry will be coming to see you tomorrow to ask you about that and everything that happened. Don't worry about thinking about it now.'

Ron nodded, instantly trying to work out what had happened to cause the fire. As much as he tried to work things out, nothing was clear to him.

'A wizard was admitted to hospital with quite severe burns and the Ministry were going to launch an investigation into the area the next morning, because this wizard was someone they'd had their eye on for a while with regards to their little terrorist group.'

She ran her fingers through his hair, he hadn't realised how much he had missed her doing it.

'The next morning, when we realised it had been him that had testified that he had seen you in the Ministry, and it had been determined that he had been the last known person to see you, things slotted into place. It wasn't anything solid, but it was something and was better than following Pigwidgeon. He may be enthusiastic and determined but he's still only little, he's not the fastest flyer in the world.'

'Was he severely injured?'

'Pigwidgeon?' Hermione asked, confused.

Ron smiled. 'No, the guy who got burned?'

'Oh, he was writhing in agony for a little while before the Healers got to him, but it wasn't anything magic and potions couldn't fix. He's now well enough to be in Ministry custody to help us with our enquiries. Oh, I almost forgot, Kingsley wants to talk to you.'

Panic rose inside Ron. 'But why? I don't think I started the fire. If I did I didn't mean to, I was just trying to run away! I didn't mean for anyone to get burned!'

'Hey, hey! Calm down, it's nothing like that, he wants to thank you!'

'Thank me? What for?'

'Did you not hear me say all that about what the evil doers were planning?'

'Yeah but, what's that got to do with thanking me?'

'Well, as much as you didn't go about alerting the Ministry to alleged Dark Wizard behaviour in the conventional way, it was, after all _you_ that brought me, Harry and the Aurors to their hideout, and he wants to tell you he appreciates what you did, or at least…tried to do!'

'Well at least something good came out of all this.' He fidgeted a little, obviously a little nervous. 'So, who do I have to talk to, tomorrow?'

'It depends on whether Dark Wizards were involved as to who talks to you. Were they?'

Ron shook his head and winced at the pain.

Hermione tutted.

'Nope, no Dark Wizards involved until, well, I don't know when it was exactly. I fell unconscious that much, but it wasn't because of them that I fell off my broom.'

'Right, well in which case someone from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will be coming to see you. Don't worry,' she said at Ron's look of concern, 'it's just routine. You were hurt so everything has to be recorded and logged. The witch who's coming to interview is nice, too.'

'Is she a colleague of yours?'

Hermione smiled. 'You could say that, what's her name again...oh, yes that's right, Granger, I believe is her surname.'

She grinned at Ron and he laughed in disbelief.

'_You're_ coming to ask me questions tomorrow morning, as a representative of the Department of Magical Law?'

'I am! You're my first official case! My boss said it would be good for me because I could get used to the stupidly long and complex forms without having to worry about the person I'm questioning being stressed, upset or intimidated by the whole process.'

'I dunno, though,' Ron said, smirking. 'You can be pretty intimidating when you want to be! I may have to be restrained!'

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. 'Is that so!'

Ron chuckled and Hermione looked away, blushing slightly. She took a breath as if she was about to start talking, but stopped. Ron thought he knew what she wanted to talk about, the previous conversation having led them to the obvious point.

'I er...I had some bizarre visions when I was out there and, thinking about it, I may have confused you with one of them. In all fairness the vision _I_ confused _you_ with was, well, _you_ so I think I'd be forgiven for getting the two of you mixed up!'

Hermione frowned at him, obviously confused.

'I was hallucinating, and in the hallucinations different people came to visit me. Harry was first and I thought he'd found me and was all set to take me home, but it was just my mind all along. After Harry was Dad and then...then Fred.'

He glanced up at Hermione and by the look on her face knew she had just slotted a piece of information into place.

'Ginny was next and then you. You told me to hold on and that you were all looking for me and that you would find me. I knew you'd find me but...I just wasn't sure if I could hold on long enough for you to find me...alive. Thinking along those lines I poured my heart out to you, the you in my head, that is, and I think, when you arrived I still thought I was hallucinating.'

'Ron, you--'

He brought his finger to her lips and she stopped talking.

'Let me finish. I thought I had to wait until the circumstances were perfect to tell you certain things, but I don't, and I shouldn't wait. I've told you once already...I, I love you, Hermione.'

He felt his cheeks go bright red but he looked up at Hermione. He didn't like the fact that she had tears in her eyes, but after what he had put her through over the last few days, he wasn't that surprised.

'I love you too, Ron.'

She sniffed and squeezed his hand tightly. He adjusted his position and sat up.

'Ron, you shouldn't--'

He stopped her talking by kissing her. He held her close to him, one hand in her hair and the other on her back. He felt her arms slide around him, but knew she was trying to avoid touching the place where he had injured his arm. He smiled as he kissed her, and loved it when he felt her do the same.

They broke apart but still held each other close.

'I was going to say something about you not sitting up, but something else stopped me caring.'

Ron chuckled but then felt dizzy. He blinked, trying to ignore it.

'What's wrong?' Hermione asked, instantly noticing his slight change in behaviour.

'Nothing, just feeling a bit dizzy.'

'See! I don't fuss for no reason!' she said as Ron lay back down.

He smiled. 'I know, but I think the situation warranted me risking going dizzy, don't you?'

'I can't disagree with that without offending you, can I?' Hermione asked through a laugh.

'Nope!'

'Then I won't.'

'Good. There's something else I want to tell you, well, ask you, too.'

'What's that?'

'I...I know we said we wouldn't rush into anything, and that it would probably be a good idea if we took things slower than what people might expect, but...I _want_ to rush into things! I want to spend all the time that I can with you and I want you to move into my far too small flat... and...well, that's it really...so, will you?'

Hermione looked shocked at what Ron had just said.

'Ron, I--'

She was cut off by the door banging open.

'Ronnie!'

Ron lifted his head off the pillow and watched as Weasley after Weasley walked into his room.

In the next few minutes, Ron was hugged and he hugged in return. Questions were kept to a minimum as requested by the Healer and after ten minutes, Ron's Healer everyone was asked to leave so that Ron could get some sleep.

Ron watched as Hermione tried to make her way through the many Weasleys to his bedside so she could say goodbye, but she was steered out of the room by Molly, politely answering statements that she must be hungry and exhausted and that she would stay at the Burrow that day and night. Hermione finally pulled away enough to look at Ron and return his half disappointed smile and give him a wave but in the next second was out the door.

Ron settled down and couldn't help but feel a little nervous that his question to Hermione had gone unanswered or that he hadn't managed to say goodbye to her properly.

'I shall be back in a minute to perform your hourly check up, Ron,' the Healer said to him. 'You don't have to be awake for it so sleep if you feel the need.'

'Okay.'

He shut his eyes and heard the door close.

Hermione wouldn't leave his thoughts. He was trying to second guess all the things she could say in answer to his question and declaration of everything he wanted and couldn't help but feel a little pessimistic about the eventual outcome.

He heard the door open and shut quietly but didn't open his eyes, the Healer said he could sleep, after all.

He was surprised when fingers ran through his hair and he felt someone sit on his bed. He opened his eyes and saw Hermione smiling down at him.

'Sorry about that,' she said quietly. 'Your mum's quite persistent when she wants to be!'

Ron chuckled. 'You don't have to tell me that!'

'I just wanted to say...that I want...the same, everything you said earlier, and of course I'll live with you. I've been cursing the cautious side of my brain ever since I suggested we take things slowly.'

'That's something else you don't need to tell me about, I've been cursing various parts of my brain over the last few days!'

Hermione looked confused.

'I'll explain later,' Ron said with a smile. 'So, are you sure that's what you want? I don't want you to feel like you have to say yes just because I'm all ill and injured!'

Hermione smiled.

'I'm sure it's what I want. I love you, Ron, and you're right, I don't see the point in wasting time getting over insignificant insecurities either one of us may have. If we find we have them, then we'll deal with them head on and together, okay?'

'Sounds perfect.'

Hermione leaned towards him and kissed him. He felt her lips part and their tongues met gently, but with a certain amount of urgency and need.

'Oh, Miss. Granger, I thought you'd gone!'

Hermione jumped away from Ron and blushed a brilliant red. Ron giggled at both the situation and Hermione.

'Er...yes...I had, but we had...er...'

'Unfinished business,' Ron finished for her.

'I'll see you tomorrow,' she whispered to Ron before walking away from his bed. She stopped and nearly fell backwards when Ron grabbed her hand.

She looked at him, still red in the face and clearly wanting to leave the room as quickly as possible.

'I love you,' Ron said simply, the sincerity obvious in his eyes.

She smiled and stopped pulling against his grip.

'I love you, too. Have a good rest and do what you're told, okay?'

'Promise.'

He let go of her hand and watched her leave the room.

The Healer busied himself with his tests and Ron closed his eyes, a dopey grin on his face.

He thought about the last few days and how he had taught himself a few lessons. There were three that stood out to him more than the rest, though:

One, never _ever_ fly a broom when it's thundering and lightening.

Two, never wait to tell your loved ones how you feel about them.

And possibly the most important lesson he had learned: never throw up next to where you want to sleep.

_Yeah, that's about right!_

**Fin**


End file.
